Word: lelic
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Basing a book around a police officer and the various testimonies she solicits may be a worn-out trope, but it must have provided an interesting exercise for Lelic. Lelic’s characters come from all walks of life, and he especially relishes in his attempts to mimic their speech. These narratives can be alternatively funny, melodramatic, and occasionally convincing. Other times however, they can be patently ludicrous...
...plotlines involves the bullying of another student, who receives threatening text messages. “Njoy yor vzit 2 d hospital. I hOp dey mAk U beta so we cn fck U up agen,” reads a typical one. It seems that Lelic wants to prove that he understands the workings of cyber-bullying and all the newfangled technology kids use, but he doesn’t seem to realize that true texting-speak involves much more than the removal of as many letters as possible...
...Lelic is more successful when he returns to the world of adults, where he displays a mastery of the small details that make up normal, working lives. He writes, “Lucia May moved from the seating area towards the kitchenette. She opened the door of the microwave and then shut what she found back inside. The smell escaped, though – sweet, artificial, she thought, low calorie.” With descriptions like these, Lelic captures modern life far more effectively than he does with his aping of teens’ texting styles or his awkward insertions...
Unfortunately, Lelic attempts to elevate his book beyond a simple description of life as we know it, trying to tackle tough issues like school shootings and sexism in the workplace. When reaching for this, his dialogue takes on a stilted quality, and ultimately the book never rises above the level of the clich?...
...gave you a chance and blew it. Now the both of you: get the fuck out of my office.’” Dialogue such as this is virtually indistinguishable from that which could found—profanity excepted—on any crime drama. Lelic starts with a very familiar form, and he fails to make it his own. Instead he bets on riding the coattails of television shows, hoping that their success will be enough to keep his book afloat. It’s a gamble that ultimately fails...